Businesses looking to recruit new skilled staff can benefit from a series of bursaries to support graduate internships.

This year the University of Lincoln will provide funding to help around 90 different employers take on a graduate intern. Bursaries of up to £1,500 are available to organisations which can offer suitable vacancies.

This includes more than a dozen bursaries provided by Santander as part of the University’s status as a member of the Santander Universities Global Division.

Mark Stow, Head of Careers & Employability at the University of Lincoln, said: “Paid internships are a good way for small and medium sized enterprises in particular to take on a recent graduate in a way which reduces the risk and costs associated with recruiting a new member of staff. Interns can be appointed to work on a specific project or to fill a vacancy for a fixed period. Often we see that graduates quickly prove themselves to be invaluable team members. Many of our recent interns have gone on to be offered permanent roles with their employers.”

The Santander Universities bursaries will support small and medium sized business operating in the science, technology, mathematics and engineering sectors. Internships could, for example, be laboratory based science roles or positions requiring advanced computer programming skills. The bursary is worth £1,500 for each position.

The University of Lincoln can also provide bursaries of £1,000 to support organisations to recruit a graduate intern through its own Graduate Internship Scheme. These bursaries are open to organisations of any size, sector and location.

To be eligible for either scheme, internship positions must be for at least 20 hours of work a week and pay at least minimum wage. They must also be genuine graduate level roles and contracted to run for a minimum three-month period.

Businesses interested in recruiting a graduate intern can discuss the support available with the Careers & Employability team at the University of Lincoln. Contact Lesley O'Donnell at lodonnell@lincoln.ac.uk, 01522 837828 or visit: www.uolcareers.co.uk